THE SHORT ANSWER
The Spring Clean update introduces the Armoured Ladder Hatch (Tier 3) and Water Wheel for hydro power, adds multi-node tech tree unlocking, reworks shield hitboxes to toggle between idle and raised states, extends plant ripe time to 24 hours, and adds coloured buttons, custom chat tag colours, and a radial light toggle menu.
- Armoured Ladder Hatch unlocks at Tier 3 with square and triangle variants
- Water Wheels generate passive power in rivers; can also be used as manual generators
- Tech tree now lets you select any node and auto-unlocks the full path
- Shield hitbox shrinks when lowered, expands when raised; fixed ranged recoil bug
- Plant ripe stage doubled to 24 hours; watchtowers can no longer be spammed
Facepunch shipped the Spring Clean update for Rust on April 2, 2026. The patch is light on headline features but heavy on systems work: two new deployables, a complete tech tree UX rewrite, shield balance changes, and a slate of fixes that address long-standing annoyances.
New Deployables: Armoured Ladder Hatch and Water Wheel
The Armoured Ladder Hatch sits at Tier 3 as a direct upgrade to the Metal Ladder Hatch. It comes in square and triangle variants and drops into existing hatch frames. For base builders who run deep vertical shafts, this is the new ceiling on hatch durability.
The Water Wheel adds hydroelectric generation. Place it in a river and it produces passive electricity as long as water flow isn't blocked. Ocean placement works but output fluctuates with tides. The wheel doubles as a manual generator — players can climb inside and burn calories for power. Handcuffed players can be forced into the wheel, adding a grim utility for groups that capture prisoners.
Tech Tree Overhaul: Multi-Node Unlocking
The tech tree received its most significant usability pass since launch. Instead of clicking through each node one by one, you now select any target node and the UI displays the full prerequisite path. A single press unlocks the entire chain, accompanied by a new animation and sound effects. The tree also recenters automatically when zooming, and the overall interaction feels faster and less repetitive.
Combat & Defense Adjustments
Shields have been a dominant meta pick. The update splits the shield hitbox into two states: a smaller square hitbox while the shield is idle on your back, and the existing larger hitbox only while actively held up. This forces a clearer trade-off between defense and mobility. A bug that applied extra ranged recoil when shooting a shield — intended only for melee attacks — has been fixed.
Watchtowers can no longer be placed directly adjacent to each other, curbing the spam-tower meta that let clans blanket compounds with overlapping sightlines.
Quality-of-Life & Accessibility
- Coloured Buttons: Buttons now support the same colour set as wires (red remains default). They're the first UI element to support nested radial menus, opening the door for more complex circuitry interfaces.
- Custom Chat Tag Colours: Accessibility options now include colour pickers for Discord DM tags, team chat, cards chat, and other channels.
- Light Toggle Radial Menu: The old togglelight bind is replaced by "Light Toggle Radial." Tap to toggle all equipped lights at once; hold to open a radial menu and toggle individual sources — useful when running night vision goggles alongside a weapon flashlight.
- IO Counter: Reset value can now be set directly.
- Deep Sea Sleeping Bags: Death screen now shows a visual indicator for bags placed in deep water.
Farming & Base Tweaks
Plant ripe duration has been doubled from 14 to 24 hours (growable flowers stay at 28). The change targets players who can only log in once a day. Chainsaws now consistently hit the "X" mark when harvesting trees. Junkpiles no longer spawn on top of sleeping bags, removing a frustrating wipe-day surprise.
The patch also includes performance improvements and a range of smaller bug fixes not detailed in the devblog. For most players, the tech tree rewrite and shield hitbox change will be the most immediately felt shifts in day-to-day play.